Am 8:11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it (RSV)
One thing that is very common among the category of books in the Old Testament scriptures referred to as the “Prophets” is their call of God’s people away from a formal, lifeless religion into a genuine, personal relationship with God that produces a life of meekness, goodness, compassion, charity, desire for justice on a personal as well as a national level. Many times, God complained of their sacrifices and gifts because love and grace was lacking in the heart.
Prophet Amos also takes up this meta-narrative, calling Israel to true religion beyond feast days and holy assemblies. Amos reminded them that the days are coming when there will be a famine of the word of God, where people will wander compassing the whole earth but will not find the word of God. Opportunities scorned and unimproved, will finally be taken away.” When men will not listen, in the time of their prosperity, to the messages of God's word, they shall seek from him in their calamity some message of comfort, but receive no answer; then all their vain confidences will fail, and they perish with none to help them.”(Family Bible Notes)
The silent years are referred to as that period of time between the last book of the whole testament and the first book of the New Testament. More accurately, it is the period of time that span from the ministry of Malachi, the last prophet to Ancient Israel (OT) to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist. This period is referred to as the “Intertestamental period” by Protestants and the deuterocanonical period by the Catholics. It is a period of 400 years plus where the Jews, the people of God, had no word from the Lord, no prophet to give them divine messages. Ironically, the period was also the most decisive for the identity, the culture and the very existence of the Jews. They faced the greatest period of their existence without “a word from the Lord”
During this period, the Jews were under different set of overloads. From the Persians to the Greeks to the Syrians and the Romans. These overlords in their different ways had profound influence on the culture and identity of the Jews in different ways
THE PERSIAN RULE
The Jews came under the Persian rule when Cyrus invaded and conquered Babylon during the reign of Belshazzar. The Persian rulers were generally, very favorable to the Jews. They allowed them freedom of worship and it was the Persian rulers that allowed them to go back to their land, rebuild their temple and the city (with monetary support) and retain their national identity. It was an indirect rule. For a century after Malachi, Israel was still under the Persian rule where they had much freedom and independence even as a Persian territory with the high priest ruling over their civil matters

THE GREEK RULE

Perhaps this was the most significant period in their history. Alexander the great was a mighty warrior at a very young age. His goal was to conquer the whole world and spread widely the influence of the Greek culture. He defeated the Persian army by 331BC and so Israel became a territory of the Greeks. Unlike the Persians, the Greeks were very much interested in “converting” their colonies to the Greek culture. This is referred to as “Hellenization’.
It was a period of massive influence by the Greek culture in the areas of learning, writing and the social life. As part of the Hellenization policy, the Hebrew Scriptures was translated into the Greek. This translation was referred to as the Septuagint (70). The Greek culture was of pagan polytheistic flavor and the eroding of the Greek culture into Israel was a challenge to the Jews. As a result of this, two parties developed; those who were favorable to the influx of the Greek culture and the Hasidim (pious ones) who objected it. Internal strife was rampant as these two parties struggled for the civil rule of the people

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